Matt Harris wrote a column for AboutBoulder years ago called Motivational Monday for about two years highlighting different ways to stay positive and motivated. Matt has since harnessed this creativity and motivation into writing a series of books called Relentless Forward Momentum, all about taking a dream and making it into a reality.

Matt has rejoined AboutBoulder to offer his advice on staying positive and motivated even during a pandemic. “It’s normal to feel weird sometimes, and not normal as the whole world has been flipped upside down. Focus on bringing yourself back to the idea that you can control your narrative, your mindset, and what you can do, even when you can’t control the things around you” says Matt. Matt has been quarantined at home with less work, but has taken the opportunity to control something that he can control: his writing. Normally, he doesn’t have as much time to dedicate to working on something he wanted to work on, and the pandemic has given him a silver lining to work on more creative things.

Matt says that one way you can continue to stay motivated is by practicing yoga and mindfulness. “Yoga is a good reset for your body and mind, which works for everything in life. Focus on the things you have full control of, and if you can’t do anything about something, waste none of your energy or time worrying about it.”

About moving forward into the new normal, Matt says, “There is still a lot of uncertainty, and it’s challenging dealing with the uncertainty and not knowing when something will open, whether it be next week or next month. All of this is challenging, but you can use this as an opportunity to better yourself and see the opportunities you have. There’s less time to be hanging out at bars, but more time to read books or talk with people you haven’t talked to in a long time.”

Matt has said that the pandemic has brought out positivity, even if it can be difficult to see. Besides giving people the opportunity to slow down and be more mindful, this pandemic has also allowed people to come together in a way that hasn’t been seen before. For example, Matt notes that a lot of people have made sacrifices to benefit others, and we’re seeing the people come together to fight with a common goal. Let’s hope that this spirit continues even after the pandemic.

To learn more about Matt, you can read his three books for free through his website or catch up on his day-to-day life with his blog.

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